Per Pugnam
by happpysmiles123
Summary: "It's funny how one minute you're happy then the next your empty. There is a future designed for you, but you don't know how it will play and that knowledge is what scares you. Something can happen so suddenly and so quick that there is no time to react so you are left there letting your imagination run wild and it isn't always rainbows and sunshine. I dunno. I just want her back."
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So this is my first Paily story ever. I had this idea stuck in my head and I just wanted to let it out. I fortunately have a good amount of time meaning I can update quicker so if I continue chapter might come quicker. Story takes place during the college visit and Hanna's mom has no mystery story..yet. Sorry for any mistakes. This is my first time here so give me a break. Anyway I hope you enjoy the story and please review :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pretty Little Liars, if I did Paige would be in every episode.**

* * *

_The pounding of my heart echos in my chest. The constant beat matching the coming and going of the black spots invading my vision. I tug my arms forward but immediately withdraw them. The pain from the handcuffs makes me keep my wrists still. I try my best to look up. The pain in my neck from slouching does not go unnoticed but I ignore it. When the black spots disappear I try my best to look around the dingy room. A small hanging light bulb being the only provider of light causes my eyes to squint and I do, but to no avail. I could only make out the outline of a door. The same door that is opening. The bright shine of (outdoor?) light forces both lids to snap shut over my eyes. I can hear the heavy footsteps gradually get louder as my attacker nears. My eyes are still closed but I can sense the person right in front of me._

_I know what will happen, I mean it already has happened about four other times so I brace myself. "Where is she?" I know who this person is talking about. She is the reason I am here but I will never show her whereabouts. "I don't know.." My voice comes out raspy, scratchy from not using it for so long. By this time my eyes are half-open. They still squint from the light. A pair of hands suddenly squeeze my neck, effectively cutting off my air stream. The sudden movements rises the pain on my wrist to more than a ten. I even feel the small trickles of blood on my fingertips that drop to the floor with a small and tiny splash. "WHERE IS SHE!?" my attacker screams while squeezing my neck even harder. I begin to gasp for air as I speak " I..(gasp)...don't..(gasp)..know..," I manage to wheeze out. With a growl the pair of hands let go. I gasp for more air and cough at the same time.  
_

_"Yes you do, I know you do, so we can do this the hard way or the easy way," I always choose the hard way. "You tell me where your precious girlfriend is and I can set you free or you don't and well..you know how that turns out..," the robotic voice chuckles. I do. The bruises around my face act as proof. I force my coughs to subside and my eyes to stay open. With what I hope is a look of determination I look to what I believe are the eyes of the onlooker. The hoodie covering the face makes it hard to tell. "Even if I did, I will never tell you", I respond with a cold voice. I am actually surprised my voice came out clear, so he or she must have heard me. "Fine have it your way," With that a hard punch lands on the right side of my face. Blood cascades down from my temple. The warm liquid flows towards my already bloody and torn shirt. Another one lands on my nose and a new wave of blood joins the last. The blows continue, some on my face, others on my stomach. The pain is too much, but I don't cry. I won't give him (the punches are too hard for a girl) that satisfaction. As the attack still continues I think about her. The girl who I would do anything for. I picture her smile, the radiant smile that melts at my heart, and her eyes. Those brown eyes that captivate my own. Those eyes full of life that can see through me and into my soul. I picture her face. The soft caramel skin that I long to touch. Her raven hair that I wish to brush my fingers through knowing that no tangles will ever stop the path. I picture my sweet, sweet Emily.  
_

_My Emily that I am suffering for and who I will continue to fight through this torture because I want her safe. I want her perfect face away from the bruises. I want her full of life eyes to never lose their glint. The beating stops and the guy in the hoodie leaves. I faintly hear the clicks of locks and bolts. I take deep breaths. I wince as I inhale the oxygen. I feel the tears prick the back of my eyes. The first drop trails over the blue and purple cheek. Another and another follow and it does not take long for a sob to erupt. I am not crying from the pain in my body. No, I never will. Instead continuous sobs come from the pain in my heart. The pain from not knowing how Emily is holding up and from not knowing if I will ever get to see her radiant smile again. Sobs rack through me harder from my last thought._

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"..the derivative of the squaring func..," The ring of the bells indicating the end of the school day cuts off the teacher. I sigh as I close my notebook. I place my books in to my bag. I stay in my seat for a second before I rise from my desk. Ms. Johnson tries to tell the class about the homework due Friday, but no one pays attention. I walk out of the room as I place the strap of my messenger bag over my shoulder. My arm travels down the strap while I walk towards _her_ locker. I start to feel giddy knowing I will see her. I round the corner and I stop cause_ she _is standing with her locker door open and her arms shuffling in her bag. My heart beats faster. It still amazes me how she can look so graceful doing something so simple. "Dammit..", I hear her mutter. A smile tugs at the corners of my mouth. Her back faces me as I walk towards her. The closer I get the more I can smell her lavender shampoo. I am finally right behind her, but she is nose deep into her locker that she doesn't notice me. She looks adorable. As she takes her head out of her locker, I encircle my arms around her waist. She slightly jumps before she relaxes. "Paige..," she breathes out. "Hmm..," I reply. She turns around in my arms. I immediately glance at her lips before looking into her eyes. "Hi." She chuckles and places her arms around my neck "Hi," she responds. Our lips gets closer and closer until finally they meet. I tighten my grip around her waist as our kisses continue, sweet and slow at first. When I tug on her bottom lip she gasps and I take this opportunity to pull back and inspect her. Her cheeks have a rosy blush, her chest is heaving up and down rather quickly, and her eyes are dark with desire. I kiss her hard this time and push her up against the locker.

"Whoa..keep it PG you two..there are people here who would like to keep their sight," the blonde interrupts.

I pull away from Emily with a small groan and place my forehead against hers. "Cock blocker," I mutter. Emily giggles when Hanna tells us she heard that. Emily gives me one last peck before turning towards Hanna. On the inside I feel like jelly, but I keep an annoyed face as I look at Hanna.

"What do you want?" I bluntly ask. Emily softly slaps my arm still around her waist. "Be nice," she tells me with a lecture tone. I give my girl a whiny look, but she gives me a pointed glare. I sigh in defeat and look at the blonde who is wearing a smirk. I squint my eyes at her._  
_

"What's wrong?" Emily asks Marin over there with a worried glimpse before she snaps her fingers in front of my face causing my squinted eyes to snap open. I give her a questioning stare, trying to ignore Hanna's chuckle in the background. "Wrinkles," she explains before giving her attention to Hanna. _REALLY?! _I gawk at the back of Emily's head in bewilderment.

"Nothing actually Spencer just asked me to grab you two and drag the both of you outside," Hanna tells Emily after her chuckling subsided.

"Grab and drag?" I ask back. "Yep," Hanna pops the "p". I give her an incredulous gaze and I can tell Emily is doing the same, from the way Hanna's eyes shuffle from me to Emily.

"Don't look at me like that..those were Spencer's words not mine!" Hanna exclaims. Emily rolls her eyes before stepping out of my embrace, I immediately miss the warmth, but I quickly recover when she grabs my hand. "Come on then," she tugs my hand bringing me closer to her. "I'll make it up to you later," Emily whispers in my ear suggestively. I shivered slightly from her warm breath tickling my ear. She tilts her head back and looks at me. Her eyes darkened with lust match my own.

"Ahem!" Cock blocker effectively ruins the mood again. "Stop eye-sexing each other, we have to meet Spencer before she throws a fit and begins to recite Abraham Linon or something!" _Really?! Linon?!_

Emily's face says the same thing. "It's _Lincoln_ Hanna," Emily corrects. Hanna face resembles one of a four-year old who was just asked whats 12 times 12. "It's Abraham _Lincoln.._you know L-I-N-C-O-L-," I try to help her before she cuts me off. "OK Fine whatever!" she throws her hand in the air "Lincon! Now let's go!" she turns and walks away.

I look at the beautiful goddess in front of me and she only shrugs her shoulder. "I tried." I shrug as well with a knowing look and close Emily's locker door. In return I receive a thankful smile. I smile back and tighten my grip around her hand. She turns away so I seize the moment and lean into her ear. "I can't wait," I whisper referring to our conversation earlier. I see her shiver when my breath hits her lobe and I smirk. I pull back and tug her towards the school doors.

"Come on..I'm sure you don't want to hear Spencer recite Abraham Lincon," I refer to Hanna's mistake. This seems to snap Emily out of her trance. She laughs softly and I swear that sound is a soothing melody from Heaven. I laugh too and wait for my girl to grab my arm. I guide her through the hallways and out the door.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"So it's settled then? Me, Emily, and Paige go to Cicero and see if we can find the source of the number, while Aria and Hanna stay here and do I don't know what," Spencer retells the plan. After school and after a rather long quote from a book character (Fallen I believe) retold from Spencer about lateness and punctuality, we all decided to talk about the campus thing today at Emily's house. Spencer and Aria share the love seat and Hanna grudgingly has her ass on the floor while me and Emily share the recliner. Although I am actually on the chair, Emily is on my lap and nope I honestly don't mind _at all._

"Hey!" both Aria and Hanna exclaim.

"I have to say goodbye to my mom before her trip to across the sea!" Aria excuses. "OK _you _have a point but _you.." _Spencer points at Hanna letting the question hang in the air.

"I got stuff to do..you know... things..to do..," Hanna replies. What a poor excuse may I add. We all give her disbelieving gazes.

"More like you have Caleb to do," I nonchalantly mutter under my breath as I lift the glass to my lips. The girls all agree with my statement, well except for Hanna. She is now glaring at me much like I did to her in the hallway. I smirk in return. _Payback's a bitch_ I think to myself in a sing-song voice. Emily suddenly shifts on my lap and the smirks wipes off. Hanna notices this and gives me own of her look-who's-laughing-now stare. Emily shifts again and this time there is a slight grind on my front. I bite back a groan. Hanna, on the other hand is laughing her ass off. The rest of the close group scrutinize Hanna. Emily takes a peek at me expresses concern when she sees me biting my lip. "I'm fine," I dismiss her anxiety with a wave of my hand. She scans my face one last time and turns back around. I bite my lip even harder as I throw my head on the edge of the recliner. Hanna's laughter now louder echoes in my head.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"Bye guys! See you at the brew in a bit Spence!" A chorus of "byes" follow Emily's. Once everyone got in their respective cars I shut the door. I turn to face Emily. "Alone at last," I speak as I circle my arms around her waist. I dip my head to kiss her but she retreats up the stairs.

"I have to go to work," she reasons with a coy smirk.

I growl in response. She decides to run up the stairs and I follow. Her laughter resounds when she opens the door to her room. She lets out a high-pitched squeak when I grab her waist and pick her up. I spin around and laugh as my goddess laughs. We land on her bed in a heap of limps. The sun casts her rays through the window and lands on Emily. For a minute I stay still and see the perfection in front of me. Raven hair splayed like a crown around her head shines from the sunlight. Her chest rises and lowers gently and her mouth is lightly parted with small breaths puffing out. I situate a lone hair behind her ear, purposely brushing my fingers along her jaw line. Her breath hitches and I smile knowing I am the only one that can cause this kind of reaction from her.

"What are you looking at?" she asks with a playful tone.

"How perfect you are," I respond softly yet seriously. She blushes and shyly looks down. I grab her chin and gently escort her beautiful face up.

"Hey..don't look away remember?" She inspects my eyes like she's searching for something. I guess she finds that something because the next thing I hear her say is

"I love you" My heart skips a beat. I study her eyes and see nothing but honesty.

"I love you too."

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**A/N: Sorry if this sucked but if it didn't then place your review and let me know. Thank you for those who actually made it to the bottom. Have some virtual cookies!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you guys for the lovely reviews! So I've been thinking lately about my writing and I decided to change it. Don't worry the story will continue, but differently. Anyway here is chapter 2.**

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_In this block of closed space, sits memories. Memories that if possible to portray through a screen like a movie, no normal person would dare to buy a ticket. Unfortunately, there are people who would. Now, those will be the first ones at the midnight premiere. These kind of people will enjoy the movie and love it from their black and twisted hearts. They will stare at the screen and smile at the horrors and laugh at the small, barely audible whimpers from the girl chained to a chair receiving beating after beating. However, this movie is reality. A reality where the hooded man, who throws his fist and lands his knuckle on the already bruised cheek, is that kind of person. The sadistic type. He enjoys the feeling of his flesh hurting another. He is the one who throws his head back as an uncontrollable sob of laughter erupts from deep within his emotionless soul. He is the one who won't take notice of the hatred and disgust on display in the eyes of the bruised face. No, not him. Not when he gives a final blow._

_-x-x-x-x-x-x-_

Windows rattle from the deep bass bursting through speakers. Colleagues dance and grind and drink cool, amber liquid from red plastic cups. All-in-all everyone is enjoying themselves. Except for the two girls rushing past the "party" house. The brunette strides swiftly, yet smoothly while the fair-skinned girl, two paces behind, stumbles forward.

"Emily..slow down would ya?" Paige requests. Emily continues forward. Paige lets out a heavy sigh and follows.

Suddenly Emily stops all motion causing Paige to collide with the brunette's back. Paige stumbles backward, cursing under her breath. Emily spins around and faces the still cursing girl. Paige looks up questioningly.

"Look, I-I'm sorry..," Emily softly states with guilt.

"Hey.. 's okay alright..it's fi-"Paige retaliates, gingerly cupping her girlfriend's cheek.

"No!..it's not..I lashed out at you back at The Brew and you didn't deserve it..and I-I-" Emily casts her eyes down in shame avoiding Paige's. Paige transfers her hand to Emily's chin and lifts it up forcing eye contact.

"It's fine," Paige retorts sincerely, smiling softly.

"No it'-," A kiss silences the protest. Paige lightly grips her lover's face, giving everything she has in the kiss; silently and pleasurably telling Emily to shut up. Emily does and kisses back. The kiss deepens when Emily wraps her arms around Paige's neck pulling her closer and closer, until their bodies are flush together. Each girl is lost in each other to notice the small group watching them. A whistle breaks the teens apart, but their embrace stays in tact.

Paige was the first to break the bliss. "Let's go before we meet the wrath of a Hastings..again," she chuckles.

"Not unless the wrath of a Hastings finds you both." Both girls jump and face the source of the voice. Spencer's arms cross and her eyebrow raises high, almost to her hairline and a scowl plasters on her face.

The couple stay silent. "Well?" Spencer's eyebrow raises even higher.

Emily breaks the silence, "We got caught up with something after you left the house..." she trails off.

"Caught up in what exactly..?" The couple blush. "OK..forget I asked," Spencer raises her hands, as if shielding her eyes from images.

"Um..Spencer are you okay?" a new voice joins the mix. Spencer drops her arms and pivots her body to face Brendon. "Oh no I'm really..I just got a small headache." Spencer dismisses the concern.

"You sure?..we can do this another da-."

"NO!" Spencer's outburst cause everyone to jump. She notices and blushes. "No..I rather do this today" she explains awkwardly.

"OK then" Brendon claps his hands. "Shall we..?" he gestures to the door of the sorority house. Spencer nods and hurriedly walks to the door. Paige clasps her hand tighter with Emily's. Emily squeezes back and confidently walks to the door with her chin up. Paige trials just behind in awe, but she isn't the only one. Brendon's gaze seem to linger on Emily as well, but on her lower region. Paige notices, so she moves her body to shield Emily. Paige smirks when she see a frown.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"So what are we looking for exactly?" Paige asks Emily. Her fingers skim against a mask on the wall before stopping at a paddle.

"A phone." Emily replies. She too is looking at the mask and paddle with curiosity.

"In that case we might as well steal everyone's cell." Paige's voice laces with sarcasm. She couldn't help it. She's just angry at Brendon for flirting with Emily, but she is hurt because Emily doesn't stop him. Before Emily can say anything back a sorority sister comes up them.

"I see you have noticed the mask."

"Oh yeah, it just caught my attention, you know..I've never seen something like this." Emily politely smiles to the other girl. The girl takes this as a que to go on about the history of the house, especially the "mother", Mrs. Grunwald.

"Wow..what a past huh?" Emily replies after the sorority girl leaves.

"Yea..." Paige curtly says. "Look..I'm gonna go find Spencer..why don't you stay and keep Brendon entertained yeah?" Paige suggests after a small silence.

"Um..yea..yea sure no prob," Emily flashes Paige a dimpled smile that usually leaves the auburn-haired girl weak in the knees, but only hurts Paige a little more. _Of course you don't. _Paige thinks as she flashes a weak smile, but Emily has her back turned and is heading straight towards Brendon missing the obvious sad smile.

Paige sighs and shoves her hands as deep as they can go in the pockets of her leather jacket before she departures down a lonely hallway.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Spencer's hands shake as they glide over scratch marks embedded on the wall. She found the phone, she found what she was looking for, but why does she feel empty? Why does she feel as if having knowledge of the phone's whereabouts is not enough?

A scream breaks her out of her thoughts. She snaps her hand back as if shocked. She stares at the wall for a split second before she circles to the door. She marches with determination to her escape. Once there she glances back at the pink phone. She imagines Allison, with her sinister smile, clutching the phone in her hand. Spencer shakes her head clearing the image and pushes the door leading into the hall. She peeks left and right. The hallway is empty. She sighs in relief and enters the hallway. She leans against the wall and pushes it back into place. Her head hits the wall softly and the lids above her eyes shield them from the sharp light. She breathes in a large gulp of air and pushes herself off the wall. With tentative steps she rounds the corner of the hallway. Immediately she shrieks, when she bumps into another body.

"Ow.." she hears, instantly recognizing the voice.

"Paige! Oh my god are you alright?" She examines the girl in front of her.

"Yea I'm fine..its just..do you even eat Hastings? God you're like just skin and bones" Paige complains, absentmindedly rubbing her arm. Spencer chuckles lightly at Paige's reaction.

"Where's Emily?" The brunette just noticed how a caramel hand isn't connected to the fair-skinned one.

Paige's smile drops. "With Brendon," she states with a bitter tone. Spencer hears the bitterness and her own smile falls. She has noticed how Emily allows Brendon to openly flirt with her, even in front of Paige. She tried to confront Emily about whether or not she knows what the boy is doing, but Brendon was always near them. She never got the chance. She raises her arm and squeezes Paige's shoulder.

"You know she loves you right?" Paige looks at Spencer insecurely. This causes Spencer's heart to clutch tightly. Sure she wasn't a fan of Paige in the past and she regrets it, but the girl in front of her risked her life for Emily. The girl in front of her wants to stop A just as badly as she does. Heck, Paige even _saved her life_, so of course Spencer will care for her.

"I can see it in her eyes Paige. Emily's eyes always light up like a kid seeing a Christmas tree when she sees you. She really loves you." Spencer reassures.

"You sure?"

Spencer smiles softly."Positive" And to lighten the mood,

"By the way I'm always right." Paige laughs and shakes her head. "Of course you would say that." Paige reveals.

"Hey!" Spencer remarks lightly, trying to sound angry, but fails miserably as bubbles of laughter make themselves known.

All that is heard echoing throughout the hallway are giggles from two friends.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"You sure you saw her go outside?" Spencer asks for the umpteenth time. They have been looking for Emily for the past 4 minutes in the backyard of the house after their little bonding moment. Spencer remembered about the discovery of the phone, but she wanted to tell Emily as well, so here they are pushing drunk people out of their way.

"Yes, OK..I'm sure." Paige replies annoyingly.

"Maybe she went back inside." Spencer tries again. She huffs as she pushes a drunk guy to her right.

"Or maybe if you open your eyes you would see her in front of you!" Paige retorts back to Spencer, who snaps her head forward. Emily is about 5 or 7 yards away from them, but she isn't alone. Brendon stands in front of Emily holding her hand. Spencer peeks at Paige, but she's not there. She looks forward again and sees Paige hastily approaching Emily. Spencer rapidly advances the jealous girl to stop her from saying or doing anything stupid, but Paige stops in her tracks. Spencer cautiously stands next to Paige.

"Are you al-"

"SSSHH!" Paige shushes, pressing her hand against Spencer mouth. Spencer was about to protest, but she halts when she sees Paige leaning forward, her ear perking up. Spencer glances at the sight in front of her. Brendon looks like he is trying to impress, but Emily's face screams agitated. This causes Spencer to lean in much like Paige. Neither girl realize how they look to outsiders. Two girls standing in a crowd of people; one girl with her hand on a mouth and the other girl with both of her hands on the hand that is on her mouth, both leaning forward a little. It's not something seen everyday.

_"Well maybe he's not making you happy anymore" _Paige's insides fill with fury. She was about to step up and tell him how wrong he is when..

_"He's a she and she's amazing" _Paige's heart flutters. Of course Emily tells Paige she is amazing, but this is different. Whenever Emily compliments Paige, its only the two of them. Right now though, Emily compliments Paige without Paige next to her. Emily _turns down_ a guy, by saying Paige's _amazing_. The corners of Paige's mouth turn up and don't stop until teeth show.

Spencer hears Emily and looks at the grin Paige wears. She smirks, but her mouth is still covered, so she lowers happy girl's hand.

Still ecstatic about Emily's words, Paige straightens her back and takes a step forward. She wants to hold Emily and kiss her like there is no tomorrow. Before she takes another, a smug voice sings by her ear.

"Told you I'm always right."

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**A/N: So what did ya think? Please review and sorry for any mistakes. Also, be on the lookout for chapter 1. I might edit that as well. Thank you! :)**

**P.S: I might take into consideration any suggestion for the next chapter...**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Wow..I'm so sorry on this super late update. I've been super busy with school which I started 2 weeks ago and to top it all off I have 3 projects due next week, so..yeah. Anyway here is the third chapter. I don't feel so good about this one, but I can't place my finger on it….**

_Her heavy breathing envelopes the silence of the room. She is tired, close to the brink of giving up, but she doesn't. She will never give up. "Never"..are her last thoughts, before the heavy door creaks open._

* * *

"_We are not going to be together next year,"_

Her hearts stops. Tears prickles the back of her eyes, but she tries to fight them back. _"We are not going_ _to be together next year_" She knew this before today. She knew this once she sat down on the deck. She understands, so she tries to give a small smile. _"We are not going to be together next year"_ She can't. She turns her head, allowing the heavy tears to flow down her face. She hears Emily do the same and her heart breaks even more. A sob chokes through her. She looks down at the lake and thinks. A ripple of water hits the edge of the deck and she thinks.

X

_She sees Emily gliding through the water, it's the last swim meet of the season. Fans sit on the edge of their seats in silence, scared to break the concentration of their star swimmer. Emily reaches the edge of the pool and she flips ever so gracefully and she gains momentum with the push of her feet. Fans are now biting their nails or gripping the edges of the bleachers. Their knuckles; a pale complexion to their skin. Caramel arms raise out of the blue only to disappear back in. Paige stands near the edge of the pool where Emily's lane is. "Come on Emily, you're so close, you can make it" Paige encourages in her head, also afraid to break the silence. The girl next to Emily reaches her, both now share the same strokes. Emily fights through the ripples of her opponent. Paige notices and she smiles. She smiles because she sees Emily's determination. She smiles because she sees Emily in the lead. She grins because she sees Emily's hand touch the wall. The crowd erupts in cheers, whistles, and the losers boo. Emily feels awesome, she feels on top of the world as she surfaces out of the water. Her eyes immediately connect with Paige and her grin. They share a silent communication. "__**We made it**__"_

X

The ripples of the water continue, so does the shatters of Paige's heart. That is all she wants for Emily. She wants to see Emily in the water where she belongs. She wants to see Emily, as the anchor that won the championships for Stanford. Paige doesn't realize her tears stopped. Paige doesn't realize that Emily is staring at her. Paige only realizes the truth. They are not going to be together next year. She longs to cry again, but she doesn't, instead she turns towards the cause of her heartaches, "There is a lot of people that came here to see you tonight, think you can go back inside and at least pretend to have a good night?" She, after all did throw a party, and even if her night is not going so well, she does not wish the same for her guests. "Yeah" Emily replies. Emily sits for a little longer before rising out of her sitting position. Paige follows after. However a splash causes Paige to turn her head back to the lake. She stands there trying to find the source of the noise, but she can't see in from she stands. Paige steps back and pivots her body, so that her head and body face the lake. She takes a few steps forward, cautiously.

X

Emily continues to walk forward. She did not hear the splash, or maybe she did, but she misinterpreted the splash as a piece of her heart falling into somewhere in her body. Anatomy was not here best subject, unless the body was Paige. Her Paige. She saw the hurt in Paige's eyes when she said those eight words, but she had to say something. She didn't want Paige to continue trying only to fall back again. Emily decided to put an end to it. She didn't mean to sound like a bad girlfriends. She just didn't want Paige to have her hopes up, only to be crushed. Speaking of Paige, Emily does not hear the footsteps that were once behind her. Fear begins to rush through her bloodstream. Emily slowly turns around. Paige is nowhere in sight. "Emily!..There you are we've looked all over for you!" Spencer walks towards Emily followed by Aria and Jake. "Yeah where have you been?" Aria worries. Emily pays no mind. She only steps forward. Spencer tugs on her arm forcing her back. "Hey..Em..what's wrong? And where's Paige?" Spencer wonders. As if on cue they all hear a loud splash. Emily tugs her arm free from Spencer's grip and rushes forward. Her mind filled with thoughts about Paige and A.

X

Paige on the other hand rushes through the water. Her dress makes everything harder, but Paige still swims as if she was in her swimsuit. When Paige returned to the deck she scanned the area, searching for the source of the splash. She found none, so she was about to turn back, but something floating in the distance got her attention. Walking closer to the edge, she leaned trying to get a better view. She noticed that the object was floating closer, so she waited. What she saw was something she did not expect. A body was facing down in the water. Paige jumped into the water as soon as she realized the body looked familiar. This is where she finds herself now. Swimming in the freezing lake, hoping the body is someone unfamiliar. Hoping the body belonged to an outsider. Someone A does not know, because Paige knew only A would do something during a birthday party.

X

Emily reaches the deck in time to see Paige in the halfway point of the lake. "PAIGE!" Emily screams. She stays rooted in her spot. Her vision solely focused on Paige. She sees Paige reach something in the water, but she can't see what it is. In fact she can't really see anything, but Paige in a hospital bed. She tries to jump into the water, but arms hold her back. She tries to break free, but she can't. "Let go!" Spencer and Aria ignore Emily's pleads. Jake stands there, not sure of what to do, not until he turns towards the lake and sees Paige struggling to hold a body up. He jumps into the water.

X

Paige reaches the body and stays afloat. She grabs the person's arms and tugs until the body is facing upwards. "Jenna" Paige whispers. A cold shiver runs through her spine, but not because of the water, but because of the pale face staring right back at her. She cups Jenna's head and feels a warm liquid, in the contrast of the cold. Paige brings her hand up and sees red. Blood. She hears another splash. Fearing the worst, Paige holds on to Jenna and keeps her about the water, struggling herself to stay up. She hears someone get closer, so she tries to swim backwards. A hand shoots out and grips Jenna's other arm, the one Paige wasn't holding and tugs her off of Paige, allowing Paige to swim upright. Paige notices a small flop of hair emerging from the dark blue. She breathes a sigh of relief when she sees it's only Jake.

"Are you alright?" Jake asks Paige, slightly breathless from the swimming.

"I'm fine it's her we need to worry about." Paige too pants out, motioning with a tilt of her head towards Jenna. Jake nods and swims back towards the house. Paige stays floating in the water for a while watching Jake. She then switches her attention to Emily, finally realizing her. When she sees Spencer and Aria holding her back, she quickly swims forwards, not wanting to worry Emily longer.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Both girls lay on mattress. One facing upwards, the other facing sideways. Both think about the events of the night. Paige only sees Jenna's lifeless body in a gurney. Emily only sees her life without Paige and her chest constricts. Emily shifts herself, so that her right side is on her mattress. Paige does not notice the shift of the mattress, so when a hand touches her arm, she slightly jumps.

"It's fine Paige, It's only me." Paige relaxes when she hears Emily's comforting voice, but she still faces the roof. Emily shifts again. She is now practically lying on top of Paige. She hugs Paige tightly in her arms and buries her head where Paige's neck connects to the shoulder. Emily's sobs loudly. Confused Paige wraps her arms around Paige's shaking form, "Why are you crying?"

"Because..I..I..don't want to..lose..you," Emily chokes out between her cries. Paige clenches her arms around Emily tighter.

"_We are not going to be together next year." _

"You won't" she hopes and kisses Emily's forehead.

* * *

**A/N: I swear there is something wrong with the chapter but oh well. I hope you guys liked the chapter and don't forget get to review. Again I'm so sorry with this update and any mistakes.**


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